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Thursday, September 18, 2014

Together... We Are Calgary: The Leadership Strategic Plan

Earlier this week, City Manager Jeff Fielding presented to Council a new strategic plan for The City of Calgary.

The plan lays out five key directives which will guide the organization over the next several years. With Council’s approval of these directives, The City of Calgary will begin a new journey related to the implementation of this work.

Administration will:

Establish a cooperative and meaningful relationship with Council

Develop a cohesive leadership culture and collaborative workforce

Better serve our citizens, communities, and customers

Focus immediate and collective attention on planning and building a great city

Strengthen the Corporation’s financial position

Implementation of these directives will have impacts on the entire organization. This will cause a rethinking of how work outcomes are to be achieved by The City at all levels from administration to front line staff. City Council will also have a role to play.

The title of the presentation, Together... We Are Calgary, captures how The City and community pull together in times of need. It also reflects how City staff are able to focus their energies on successful outcomes when we work together as ‘One City’ with ‘One Voice’ – as seen in the response to the 2013 flood and other crises. As part of this journey, The City will be making a concerted effort to improve collaboration across the organization at all times. The unprecedented population growth facing Calgary over the next several years will be the key driver in enhancing levels of cooperation.

The organization will not be undergoing a major restructuring. The City will continue serving citizens and customers in ways that meet their expectations now and in the future, but will also look to improve how it does business.

The approach to planning and building a great city will be significant, due to the new reality facing Calgary – projected population growth of up to 40,000 new citizens each year for the next four years. This will require all of The City’s departments to work together to ensure it is well positioned to respond. A new initiative will bring together representatives from all departments to determine and implement collaborative solutions for growth.

The City will be required to think creatively about how to serve a community growing at a rate that exceeds previous projections. That journey has begun.